Sony appears to have begun shipping computers in China with Green Dam installed, in advance of the Chinese government’s July 1 deadline. But the company is disclaiming responsibility for any damage caused by the Web filtering software.

Source : Information Week

India is to embark on an ambitious plan to provide each of its 1.1 billion-plus citizens with a national identity card and has picked an industrialist who helped to spearhead the country’s IT revolution to lead the project.

Source : The Independent

Being trapped in a pod just 4ft in diameter, unable to stretch or go to the bathroom while having to listen to heavy metal or the Crazy Frog, may sound like a nightmare. But two students willingly signed up for what must be most people’s idea of torture - all in the name of fundraising. William Green and Matt Wieteska spent 26 hours curled up in the “escape” pod, without being able to stretch out, sleep for any more than two hours at a time or even go to the bathroom. … As the group raised almost £800 and have covered their production costs, they are donating a percentage of the fundraising money to civil liberties charity the Open Rights Group.

Source: Edinburgh Evening News

Response in full :

Thank you for the e-petition on internet advertising technologies and customer privacy.

As your petition states, some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been looking at the use of Phorm’s Webwise and Open Internet Exchange (OIX) products.  However, the only use of the technology so far has been the trials conducted by BT.

Advertisers and ISPs need to ensure that they comply with all relevant data protection and privacy laws. It is also important that consumers’ privacy is protected and that they are given sufficient information and opportunity to make a clear and informed decision whether to participate in services such as Phorm.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people’s privacy is fully protected.  Legislation is in place for this purpose and is enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). ICO looked at this technology, to ensure that any use of Phorm or similar technology is compatible with the relevant privacy legislation.  ICO has published its view on Phorm on its website:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/pressreleases/2008/new_phorm_statement_040408.pdf

ICO is an independent body, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to second guess its decisions.  However, ICO has been clear that it will be monitoring closely all progress on this issue, and in particular any future use of Phorm’s technology.  They will ensure that any such future use is done in a lawful, appropriate and transparent manner, and that consumers’ rights are fully protected.

Source : http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page19318

David Cameron: “I think the British public is going to want a lot more transparency about where their money goes … i think they are going to want, and we will give them, the absolute right to see all those figures, to be able to see every item of public spending so they can make sure there is good value for money.”
…
“The first is what I would call extensions of the state where the state keeps doing new things and some of those we are just going to have to say we can not afford those, national identity cards, the contact point database for children”
…
“We have always opposite the massive NHS computer, it may be by the time we; if we win the next election, be to late to make any big inroads into the cost of it.”

Source: BBC Radio 4 Today program

More than 150 artists from bands as diverse as Radiohead, Soul II Soul and Blur are swapping their plectrums for placards as they take up arms to fight for their rights in the digital music world.

They are converging on London tomorrow for the inaugural meeting of the Featured Artists’ Coalition, spearheaded by well-known firebrand and campaigner Billy Bragg and Blur drummer David Rowntree.

Source: guardian.co.uk
HatTip: Richard King

Data protection is a top priority for Government Departments and there are a number of key areas in which we have made improvements:

Vital openness and transparency achieved through the publishing of data breaches in annual resource accounts-there is currently no equivalent requirement to report in the private sector

Enhanced departmental roles increasing accountability with senior information risk owners at board level owning risk and reporting to accounting officers on data security measures

Huge training efforts-90,000 staff trained at HMRC alone, NHS training package available to 1 million plus staff, new civil service wide e-learning package delivering data security training on an unprecedented scale

Increased technical precautions to minimise the likelihood of data losses-encryption programmes in all Government Departments with over 30,000 laptops encrypted in MOD alone.

Updated and improved guidance being issued on all aspects of departmental security including physical, personnel and information security.

Source: Tom Watson MP (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office; West Bromwich East, Labour)

Censorship technologies are purveyed as a way to protect us from the evils of child abuse. But they’re costly systems that are unlikely to actually protect anyone or prevent any child abuse — they’re more likely to interfere with the way the Internet works and hamper innovation by online communities.
…
The IWF’s censorship failed doubly to be transparent. It is not transparent technologically, which leads inevitably to a conflict the end-to-end expectations of the rest of the Net. And its process of attempting to block and filter is far from transparent to those who are caught up in it: from puzzled and frustrated Wikipedia users to the millions of Britons who never realized they were paying their ISPs for a compulsorily and arbitrarily sanitized Internet.

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation

The voluntary Code, to which ISPs covering over 95 per cent of broadband customers have signed up, is designed to provide greater clarity for consumers and reduce the potential for consumers to be misled over the speeds they will be able to achieve from their broadband service.
Video briefing

Ofcom will monitor compliance over the next six months to ensure ISPs are honouring the commitments made signing up to the Code.

Under the Code, ISPs are required to:

• provide consumers at the point of sale with an accurate estimate of the maximum speed that their line can support;
• explain clearly and simply how technical factors may slow down speeds and giving help and advice to consumers to improve the situation at home;
• offer an alternative package (if there is one) without any penalties, if the actual speed is a lot lower than the original estimate; and
• explain fair usage policies clearly and alert consumers when they have been breached.

Source: Ofcom press release